42 responses so far

Well, since MLK Day is approaching, I’m wondering if anyone has a favorite portrayal of Dr. King on television or film? Also, why is it that Hollywood hasn’t yet attempted a “definitive” biopic of him?

Kris, is there any major movie you haven’t seen yet pre-Oscars? i.e., have you seen Biutiful? Harry 7? I can’t remember. For me, it’s Another Year and Biutiful. Those are the only 2 left I need to see to be satisfied (for my own personal lists and whatnot).

Saw Biutiful at Telluride. Never saw HP7. I’ll hold off until the final chapter. What I missed that I really wanted to see was Everyone Else and White Material. Not major films, but those are the ones for me.

Cool. All of my top 10s (covering about 20 categories or so) are set except I feel as if Bardem, Manville, and Another Year’s screenplay will make my lists; so I’m itching to see them to feel ‘complete’ for the season. I don’t believe either film (of the ones I need to see) come near me for several weeks. Grr.

On Harry 7, I feel like FX is a strong possibility for a nom. I also feel like it could slide into Art Direction (as the Harrys have in the past), and I enjoyed the score greatly. But methinks Desplat will get in for TKS, or a surprise GW.

I haven’t been particularly interested in seeing it, but it got better reviews than I expected and audiences seem to like it for the most part. Would it be worth seeing as a non-3D matinée, with low expectations?

A) You absolutely love them.
B) You have seen them many, many times.
C) You hold them near and dear to your heart.
D) While they may be critically acclaimed, they are not films that are widely considered masterpieces.
E) While critically acclaimed, they aren’t films that are frequently discussed, year in and year out, on movie blogs such as this one.

A prime example for me would be Breaking Away, written by Steve Tesich and directed by Peter Yates.

I don’t know, the early buzz just made it seem like everyone was expecting it to be a total train wreck. No one seemed to like the trailers. But it’s got 44% on Rotten Tomatoes, which obviously isn’t particularly good, but not nearly as bad as I was expecting either. It’s a January release after all, you never have high hopes for them.. Although this one is probably one of the most high-profile films ever released in January..

I’m not Tapley, but I can answer that, at least for myself, in what’s probably my favourite film of all time: Network, directed by Lumet at written by Paddy Chayefsky.

I absolutely love it (satisfying (A)); have seen it at least 10 times (B and C); it won 4 Oscars yet doesn’t seem to resonate with many modern critics or appear on many Top 10 lists (D); it’s never really talked about nowadays, and was only discussed this year after Peter Travers compared TSN to it at the NYFF.

Saw Exit Through the Gift Shop finally and was floored. Absolutely loved it. I also saw Green Hornet and The Dilemma. Surprisingly liked Green Hornet even though i expected it to be boring trash. Really upbeat film. Dilemma was a shocking bore.

The Green Hornet was actually a bit better than I expected. There was humor, action-packed bits, and a decent Christoph Waltz. It’s a pretty good ride for January.

@Robert Hamer- I’ll answer this in two parts.

A) For some reason, I can’t recall any off of the top of my head. If anyone could give an example, it’d be nice

B) I don’t know. I think that if Hollywood did a biopic on MLK, I think that it could also extend the possibility of a broad biopic of the Civil Rights Movement itself (which would also focus on Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, etc…) that could be from MLK’s perspective.

It’d be a very interesting film covering a very interesting time in recent history.

Kris you must tell us more about your history so far as in why you were in London for a few months and how you got to where you are now and how?! This is quite an intimate site and i really think it would be interesting just to find out that extra bit of detail about you guys.

I just came back from a screening of The Last Station with my mother. Right on time for last year’s Oscars, I know!

It’s a bit underwhelming. Several bits of possibly intriguing plot devices were discarded midway through the story, and the sillyness of the first half clashed hard with the overdramatic latter half.

Plummer was fine, but Mirren was increasingly chewing the scenery as the movie went. However, it’s not so bad overall, it’s just a bit lightweight. Besides, we just had seen A Prophet the night before and everything was gonna feel a tad ‘whatever’ in comparison.

I also need to see Another Year before I can make a definitive year end best list. That, Somewhere and 127 hours (none of which have opened anywhere near me). There are also some docs that have yet to make an apperance in my three cinema town (Inside Job, Waiting for Superman).

I too think HP7 could pop up in more below the line categories than a lot of people think. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful and well crafted movies I saw this year.

@Kris
Everyone Else IS a major film, one of the most significant films made this year. I think it is greater than all the films vying for Best Picture slots at this year’s Oscars, its even better than Toy Story 3.

1995, Dolores Claiborne. I swear, everytime I watch that movie I can’t believe it got little to no recognition. Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, David Strathairn, Judy Parfitt … all at the absolute top of their games. Riveting story, a wonderfully gloomy atmosphere (cinematography, make-up, sound, musical score). It got good reviews, but it just didn’t matter that year. 1995 was a clusterf*ck; Oscarwise.

#11- For me, it’s “The Green Mile”, A film that I hold in the same regard as Frank Darabont’s more appreciated “Shawshank”. Along with being a facinating story, the film is anchored by, for my money, the greatest ensemble cast in the history of film. And I’ll never forget the first scene Wild Bill appears in and thinking “Who is this Guy?”. That guy turned out to be Sam Rockwell, who is unquestionably my favorite actor. Now ten years later finally getting a certain amount of recognition for work like “Moon” and “Conviction”.

‘Green Mile’ is definitely a movie that – when it’s on TV, I always stop and watch it for a while, if not for the rest of the time. It’s viewed as hokey, I know. But there’s a definitely movie magic power it it, as well.

Scott: I’m guessing you weren’t a visitor of the site back when I was in London, but it was part of my journalism graduate school study. I interned at The Times.

How I got to where I am now is a long and sordid story. Some day I’ll buy you a drink and commiserate, but the short version is it wasn’t planned and here I am…for now.

Daniel: Big fan of what Boetticher did. A great alternative to the work of Ford and Mann in their day. Saw Ride Lonesome at a westerns course I took on a whim at USC and thought it was great. I have his big DVD box set. You should pick it up.

I watched “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” and it’s certainly one of the weirdest movies I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another film with a scene where a catfish performs oral sex on a woman.